Recovery Efforts
by JC HOYT
Summary: Woody & Jordan try to recover from the aftermath of the shooting.
1. Chapter 1

**Well this season's premiere was in my opinion just another missed opportunity so here is my take on how it would have been better.**

"Screw your pity and get out" Woody said harshly from the confines of his hospital bed.

Jordan couldn't believe what she was hearing, his voice was so cold, so detached, a far cry from her normally cheerful Midwestern detective that she'd grown to love. He might get mad at her from time to time, for all the unnecessary trouble she'd get them into or for her stubbornness when it came to the subject of them as more than friends but he could never stay mad, never once spoke to her the way he was right now.

She just stared blankly back at him, tears in her eyes, threatening to fall at any given moment. She nodded weakly and slowly turned to go. She got through the door then stopped in her tracks and turned sharply on her heel and came back into the room.

"No" she said

He just looked at her, completely exhausted and desperately wanting her to leave him alone , the thought of her saying what he had so desperately longed for her to say for so long out of pity was just too much for him to bear right now, along with his injury.

"No?" he questioned, frustrated by her steadfast stubbornness.

"Screw you Woody" she shot back angrily.

"Screw me?" he said incredulously, not believing her nerve to speak to him this way now.

"That's right, Screw you Woody, the only person who pities you is you, you're so busy feeling sorry for yourself, for what happened to you that you cant be bothered to think about anyone else" She yelled at him.

"I always think of everyone else, right now I think I have a right to be selfish! I was almost killed, and if I can't walk anymore, I might as well be dead!" he yelled back at her, his own eyes filling with tears, his emotions threatening to betray him.

Jordan wiped her eyes, willing the tears to stay in. "You selfish bastard! Don't you think those other cops who were killed and their families would have given anything to be alive, whether they could walk or not?"

"Well I'm not them" he said looking away.

"No, they're dead and you're not, so maybe you should try being a little more grateful of that" She said angrily.

"Should I be grateful for your pity? Of you saying you love me because you thought I might not wake up?" he asked bitterly.

"How dare you question my feelings for you, maybe it wasn't the best time to say what I said but that was the first time I could say it, you have no idea what it feels like to get that phone call, to be scared out of your mind, to see you like that" she said, tears now streaming down her cheeks uncontrollably. She roughly wiped at her cheeks, cursing her inability to control her emotions, she wanted to be angry.

Woody looked away at the wall, his own stubborn pride was winning the battle over his heart which wanted to confess his own love for her and hold her in his arms and tell her how scared he was but he knew he couldn't do that and he would have no part in this game she was surely playing with his heart.

A nurse entered the room. "Ma'am, I'm afraid we're going to have to ask you to leave, he needs his rest now and it seems you're upsetting him" She said.

Jordan looked at Woody, who was still looking away, unwilling to meet her gaze. She turned and left his room quietly.

"Can I get you anything sir?" the nurse asked Woody.

"Can you get me my life back?" Woody asked somberly as he watched Jordan walking away from him.

"No, I'm afraid that's something you're going to have to do for yourself" the nurse smiled sympathetically.

"I'm not sure that's going to be possible after this" he frowned, looking out of the room in the direction of Jordan's retreat.

"You know, they say you only fight with people who mean the most to you, it seems silly but it's true, you don't bother with people you don't care about" she advised him.

"Now get some rest Detective Hoyt, tomorrow is a new day" she said cheerfully and left him alone with his thoughts to get some sleep.


	2. A New Day

"Yeah, a new day" Woody said to himself, somewhat hopefully.

Woody couldn't seem to get to sleep that night, every time he closed his eyes he would have some dream that featured who else but Jordan, he couldn't seem to get her out of his head no matter how hard he tried. He turned his head to the side and discovered the reason why she was overtaking his thoughts.

She hadn't counted on him waking up as she gazed at him through the door way of his hospital room. She didn't set foot inside because she wanted to be able to make a quick exit if he stirred, he caught her off guard when he suddenly opened his eyes and looked right at her. She started to leave, hoping he would just think it was a dream and go back to sleep.

"No, don't go" he said softly.

"I didn't want to wake you" she tried to explain.

"It's okay, I couldn't sleep" he smiled gently.

She nodded. "Bad dreams?"

"No, not bad, but I was dreaming, you know when you have those dreams that feel so real that you wake up and aren't sure for a minute if you were dreaming or if it really happened"

"Yeah, I know all about those" she said.

"Do you? Did you ever have any dreams like that about me?" he teased with a grin.

"Wouldn't you like to know" she teased back, with a smile.

"Yes I would" He nodded, suddenly lost in his own thoughts.

Her cheeks got red and she looked away, focusing on anything but him.

"You can come in you know" he said, changing the subject, sensing her embarrassment.

She looked back at the door, realizing she'd only taken about a step inside the room. "Oh yeah" she said and walked further into the room, not really sure what she should be doing, things were tense between them earlier to say the least but now he was being more than civil, almost flirty.

"Come sit with me" he said

She moved to sit in the chair next to his bed.

"So what were these realistic dreams about?" she asked.

"You mostly" he answered truthfully.

"Really?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"And what about me specifically?" she probed.

"We were together, holding hands, kissing, laying around on the couch in each others arms just doing nothing but being together" he smiled at the thought. She smiled too.

"So is it too late for that to happen?" she asked hoping to God he wouldn't say yes.

"Do you think it is?" he asked, turning the question back on her.

"I hope not" she answered, looking into his eyes and taking his hand in hers.

"Jordan" he whispered almost inaudibly

She leaned over and kissed his lips softly, as softly as they had kissed that time in the desert. He stroked her cheek with his hand and she was the one who made the move to deepen the kiss, she opened her mouth and he responded accordingly, opening his mouth too, their tongues meeting for the first time in an amazing kiss. They pulled away slowly.

"Jordan, I'm sorry for acting like I did earlier, I was just scared" he admitted.

"It's okay, it doesn't matter" she said knowing she had said and done plenty to him that he had always forgiven her for.

"I want to be with you, I've always wanted to be with you, do you think you're ready to do this now?" he asked.

"Yeah, I know I can't run from us anymore, I'm ready to give it a try" she said, wiping back tears from her eyes.

He smiled, feeling emotional himself. "Come here"

She climbed up on the edge of the bed and hugged him close, burying her face in his neck, drinking in his scent. He shivered, she pulled back to look at him. "That tickles" he explained. She smiled and kissed his neck and cheek before returning her attention to his lips, kissing him deeply. She laid her head on his chest.

"Its after midnight, it's a whole new day" he said out loud and smiled to himself.

"It sure is" Jordan smiled, looking up at him.


End file.
